How to paint tiny faces: Beginner friendly tutorial

Join me in my art studio as I show you how to paint a miniature face in your art journal.

Painting small can be challenging, especially with portraits, which have so much depth and need to be painted in multiple layers, but it doesn’t have to be! Especially if you paint more in a more loose, painterly style.

Watch the process: How to paint a tiny face using acrylics

This is the fourth demo in my series on how to use a neutral color palette in your art journal.

Here’s a demo of how I paint tiny faces using acrylics in my art journal. It’s not as intimidating as it you’d imagine, I promise!

Scroll down for the full supply list.

If you enjoyed this video, you will also love this tutorial on painting a whimsical mixed media portrait and these tutorials on how to use a neutral color palette in your art journal. Enjoy!

And here’s the finished painting! Isn’t that tiny little face gorgeous? Don’t forget to pin this for later – inspiration at your fingertips!

How to paint miniature portraits - beginner friendly video tutorial. Painting small faces doesn't have to be difficult - let me show you how!

Supply list

I used this Mixed media paper to make my art/junk journal, but you could totally do this in any art journal. This one is my favorite.

White gesso

Acrylic paints in your chosen neutral palette. I used the following:

Pebeo paints: Payne’s grey, Raw sienna, Titanium Buff, Yellow ochre

Camel paints: Black, Burnt umber, grey

Black Derwent Coloursoft color pencil

Baked Earth Derwent Intense pencil

Princeton Catalyst mini blade no. 01

Paintbrushes in different sizes

White paint pen (I used a Uni-Posca)

Pencil

Note: All of these links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you’re an India-based artist, I highly recommend ArtLounge — I get most of my art supplies from them, going to Amazon only for the few brands that they do not stock. Use the coupon code SHINJINIM at checkout to get a sweet discount.

More art journaling inspiration

If you’re looking for more inspiration, take a look at all of my art tutorials or join me for the Inner You e-course to learn how to use I AM statements.

Want to up your art journal game? Then join me for Book of Days 2022, a collaborative e-course that will take you on a deep dive into mixed media art journaling. In this year-long course, we will focus on all the ways that working with journal art can enrich and enhance our lives. The course is suitable for everyone from beginners to advanced artists, and will help you to create and maintain a practice of meeting yourself on the page.

pain palette

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Weekly notes from an artist’s studio, including pages from my mixed media art journal, works in progress, notes on the creative process, and other ideas that capture my interest, along with regular discussion threads to chat about art.

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I’m an artist and art educator, podcaster, tarot reader, and writer. I share my discoveries along the path to inspire you to live a more creative, soul-centered life. Receive my love letters for more of my musings on life and creativity. P.S. I love Instagram - join me there?

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